Samuel Griswold

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Samuel Griswold (born December 27, 1790 in Burlington (Connecticut) , † September 14, 1867 in Clinton (Georgia) ) was an American industrial pioneer in Georgia in the 1820s . He was the founder of the village of Griswoldville, an industrial site.

Life

Griswold and his family moved to Clinton, Georgia, near what is now Gray , Georgia in 1818 .

In Georgia in 1830 he founded a successful egrenizing machine factory, which quickly became the largest manufacturer of egrenizing machines in the USA. One of his colleagues was Daniel Pratt , who later moved to Alabama and became a major industrialist and founder of Prattville, Alabama . Griswold's village Griswoldville was an industrial site with an Egreniermachine factory, a soap and tallow factory, a candle factory, a sawmill and a flour mill, a post office and a non-denominational church.

When the American Civil War broke out, the Griswold Egreniermachine factory was leased to the Confederate Government and converted to the manufacture of pistols and ammunition at the behest of the Governor of Georgia, Joseph E. Brown . In Griswoldville there was also a position commission of the southern troops. The revolver produced in Griswoldville was first named Griswold and Grier Revolver, later Griswold Gunnison , after Arvin Nye Gunnison , Griswold's business partner. The Griswold Gunnison revolvers are copies of the Colt 1851 naval revolver and were given a distinctive brass frame due to the lack of steel in the south. A cylinder made of turned iron instead of steel is also typical of the Griswold. Griswoldville was destroyed on November 20, 1864 by Captain Frederick S. Ladd and his men of the 9th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. The Battle of Griswoldville was the first battle of Sherman's March to Sea .

After the civil war, Griswold sold part of his fortune and withdrew. He died on September 14, 1867 and is buried in the Clinton Cemetery.

In pop culture

Cullen Bohannon , a Confederate Army veteran and protagonist of AMC's Hell on Wheels , carries a Griswold revolver. This fact is mentioned in the pilot episode and is a theme in several episodes (e.g. Season 3, Episode 6) where the signature weapon is used, shown or mentioned.

credentials

  • Bragg, William H., Griswoldville
  • Williams, Carolyn, History of Jones County Georgia: For One Hundred Years , Specifically 1807-1907

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Griswold, Samuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American industrial pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1790
PLACE OF BIRTH Burlington (Connecticut)
DATE OF DEATH September 14, 1867
Place of death Clinton (Georgia)